Medicinal Plants for Industrial use

The industrial use of medicinal plants involves the manufacture of both traditional herbal medicines and modern drugs. A survey on the needs of traditional drug manufacturers and major distributors of medicinal plants indicated that about 19 varieties of medicinal plants (out of the 65 commonly used plants) could be economically developed to supply raw materials for local traditional drug manufacturers. However, since the demand for each plant is only about 10-60 tons per annum, large-scale cultivation of these plants would result in an over-supply of raw materials. Therefore the delineation of producing areas and limitation of the amount produced has to be carefully observed.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) recently published a list of 70 medicinal plants used in modern drug industry. Out of these 70 plants, Dr. Nuntavan’s study has suggested the promotion of 12 varieties, and recommended more intensive research into production technology, since little is known about the cost and techniques of cultivation and the extraction of these plants.

However, since the extraction techniques of these plants are well developed and widely known in Western nations, there are potentials to develop the production of these plants in Thailand, particularly those used in the manufacture of steroid drugs.